Sighting means for firearms

ABSTRACT

The upper portion of the front sight of a firearm which is thin in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the barrel of the firearm has a luminescent pellet, the dimensions of which are larger than that of the thin transverse dimension of the upper portion of the front sight, positioned at slight distance in front of it, on the side of the front sight opposite the rear sight. The luminescent pellet is movable between a first position in front of the upper portion of the front sight and a second retracted position out of the line of sight. The luminescent pellet permits a marksman, upon night firing, to distinguish the upper portion of the front sight against a luminous background formed by the luminescent pellet.

iinited States Patent [191 Tellie SIGHTING MEANS FOR FIREARMS Paul E. Tellie, St. Etienne, France [22] Filed: May 17, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 470,854

[75] Inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Primary Examiner-Richard E. Aegerter Assistant Examiner-Richard R. Stearns Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher [57] ABSTRACT The upper portion of the front sight of a firearm which is thin in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the barrel of the firearm has a luminescent pellet, the dimensions of which are larger than that of the thin transverse dimension of the upper portion of the front sight, positioned at slight distance in front of it, on the side of the front sight. opposite the rear sight. The luminescent pellet is movable between a first position in front of the upper portion of the front sight and a second retracted position out of the line of sight. The luminescent pellet permits a marksman, upon night firing, to distinguish the upper portion of the front sight against a luminous background formed by the luminescent pellet.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 FIG.1

FIG.4

SIGHTING MEANS FOR FIREARMS The present invention relates to sighting means or devices for a firearm, which sighting means comprise a rear sight and a front sight which are integral with the weapon. More particularly it concerns sighting devices which make it possible to fire under unfavorable conditions of visibility, such as night firing.

In one known sighting device of this type the front sight comprises a bore constituting a housing for a luminescent pellet which is installed in the said housing. In another known sighting device of this type, when it is desired to effect night shooting, the front sight provided for day shooting is replaced by a luminescent pellet support. In these known sighting devices, upon night firing, the line of sight is represented by the straight line which passes through the center of the peephole and the luminescent pellet; it will be seen that such a sighting line is poorly defined and the firing therefore lacks precision.

The present invention is directed at overcoming this drawback by providing a sighting device which enables it to obtain a precision in night firing which is definitely improved as compared with the precision obtained with the sighting devices known up to the present time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sighting device for night firing in which, when the weapon is used for day firing, the active part of the luminescent pellet remains protected against any deterioration.

The sighting device in accordance with the invention is characterized by the fact that the upper part of the front sight is thin and that it comprises a luminescent pellet of dimensions greater than the transverse dimensions of the said upper portion of the front sight, said luminescent pellet being arranged at a slight distance in front of said front sight, on the opposite side of said front sight with respect to the eye of the marksman, so that the said marksman can, upon night firing, distinguish the upper portion of the front sight against a luminous background formed by the said pellet.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, there are provided a support for the luminescent pellet and positioning means to confer at least a first and a second given position to the said support, the luminescent pellet being in front of the upper portion of the front sight when the support is in the first position, and said pellet being retracted so as not to be in the line of sight when the support is in the second position. In this case preferably the front sight is rigidly connected with a support fastened to the weapon, the pellet support being firmly connected with the said front-sight support and the positioning means of the pellet support comprising stop means which are firmly connected with the front sight support.

Other objects, characteristics or arrangements in accordance with the invention will also become evident during the course of the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention which is given below, this description being given with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I shows schematically a firearm provided with a sighting device,

FIG. 2 shows a side view of a front sight with which a luminescent pellet is associated in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 3 is a front view, seen from the marksman's side, of the front sight shown in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a section along the line IV-IV of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. I shows a weapon provided with its sighting device which comprises a rear sight 1 and a front sight 2. The rear sight I and the front sight 2 are generally installed in supports which are firmly connected with the weapon, that is to say, generally with the barrel or the forestock of the weapon.

In accordance with the invention, the upper portion 3 of the front sight 2 is thin. This arrangement is clearly evident from FIG. 3. Furthermore, a luminescent pellet 4 is provided which is arranged, for nighttime firing, in front of the upper portion 3 of the front sight 2. In other words, the luminescent pellet 4 is located, on the sighting line, on the side opposite the rear sight l (and therefore the eye of the marksman) with respect to the front sight 2.

The use of the term sighting in nighttime firing," in the foregoing and in the following, is understood to mean in general all sighting conditions for which visibility is unfavorable.

It will be realized that with the arrangement which has just been described, the marksman sees the upper portion 3 of the front sight 2 illuminated from the rear by the luminescent pellet 4. Thus in nighttime firing, the contours of the upper portion 3 of the front sight 2 appear very distinctly and the firing can be adjusted precisely, as under favorable conditions of visibility.

In the example shown, the front sight 2 is formed of a metal blade which is installed in a support 5. Of course, the support 5 is directed transversely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the barrel of the firearm. This support 5 is formed, in the example, of a shaped part the cross section of which is substantially in the shape ofa I (FIG. 4). The central branch 6 of this I extends substantially in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the barrel; and as a result, the side branches 7 and 8 are substantially perpendicular to the said longitudinal axis of the barrel. The arm 8 constitutes the front wall of the front sight support.

In accordance with another arrangement of the invention, a support 9 is provided for the pellet 4 which may assume at least two positions, namely the position shown in solid lines in FIG. 2 which is intended for nighttime firing and another lowered position, shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, intended for daytime firing in which the pellet 4 is no longer in front of the upper portion of the front sight.

In the embodiment shown, the pellet 4 is installed in a bore hole 411 in the support 9 which constitutes a housing for the said pellet 4. Of course, the active face 4b of the luminescent pellet is on the front sight side. Furthermore, the said bore hole 4a is on an end 9a of reduced width, so that the said support does not constitute a screen between the marksman and the target.

In the example, the support 9 has the shape ofa slide which can slide on the front arm 8 of the support 5. This sliding takes place in transverse direction, that is to say, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the barrel. The rear portion of the support 9 clamps around the arm 8; and for this purpose, said rear portion of the support 9 is provided, as seen in cross section (FIG. 4), with an opening the rear edges 10 of which are applied against the inner ends of the arm 8 of the I which con stitutes the support 5. Furthermore, the front edge 11 of said opening of the rear portion of the support 9 is applied against the outer flat face of the same arm 8.

It will be noted that it is preferable to mount the support 9 on the arm 8 with a relatively hard sliding motion so that the positions of the said support 9 on the arm 8 cannot vary in undesirable fashion.

In order that the positions of the support 9 for daytime firing and nighttime firing are clearly determined and that the placing of this support 9 in these positions is effected instantaneously, stops or projections 13 and 14 are provided which extend from one of the ends (as seen in cross section in FIG. 4) of the arm 8 of the support 5. The stop 14 is intended to define the position for nighttime firing and the stop 13 is intended to define the position for day time firing.

In the daytime-firing position, the lower end 15 (opposite the end 9a of the support 9 is against the protrusion 13. Only said lower portion 15 has been shown in dot-dash line, for the daytime-firing position.

The rear portion, shaped as a slide, of the support 9 consists of two portions. The first portion 16 is near the said lower end 15 and the second portion 17 is near but below the upper end 9a. Between the portions 16 and 17, the rear portion of the slide 9 is limited to the face 11. In this way, in order to bring the support 9 into the nighttime-firing position, the said support is slid so as to bring the upper edge of the portion 16 against the protrusion 14.

Of course, the rear portion of the support 9 may (in a variant not shown in the drawing) be made ofa single piece.

It will be realized that in the daytime-firing position, the upper end 9a of the support 9 is pressed against the flat outer face of the arm 8. In this way the active face 412 of the luminescent pellet 4 is protected from the outside, since in this case the outer face of the arm 8 constitutes. so to say, a cover for the housing of the pellet 4.

With regard to the support 9, finally, it will be noted that its front portion 18 constitutes a protrusion of a width less than the body of the support 9; this arrangement makes it possible to improve the grasping of the support 9. As a matter of fact, in order to pass from one position to the other, it is sufficient to slide the support 9 between the protrusions 13 and 14. It is therefore important that this support 9 can be slid by ones fingers.

In order to improve the visibility of the upper portion 3 of the front sight 2 there have been provided, in the example shown in the drawing, members 19 which protrude from both sides of the blade which constitutes the front sight. These members 19 converge towards the -faces of the said blade before reaching the upper end 3 of the front sight.

The sighting device which has just been described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 may lend itself to numerous variant embodiments without thereby going beyond the scope of the invention. Among said variants, mention may be made of that in which the support 9 is not adapted to slide along the support 5 of the front sight, but rather can pivot around a pin which is also rigidly connected with the support 5 of the front sight. In this case stop means can be provided to establish the two given positions necessary for this support, namely the daytime-firing position and the nighttime-firing position.

The sighting device which has just been described may be used for any type of firearm. When the line of sight is relatively high, it is particularly advantageous to have the support of the luminescent pellet slidable in a transverse direction.

As goes without saying, and as is furthermore evident from the foregoing, the invention is by no means limited to those manners of application and embodiments which have been more particularly contemplated; rather, it covers all possible variants.

What is claimed is:

l. A firearm comprising:

a front sight comprising a thin upper portion, said front sight being in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the firearm,

a front sight support rigidly connected to the firearm,

said front sight being rigidly connected to said front sight support,

a rear sight,

a luminescent pellet of dimensions greater than the thin transverse dimension of the upper portion of the front sight, said luminescent pellet being positioned a slight distance in front of said front sight, on the opposite side of the front sight from the rear sight, so that a marksman using the firearm upon nighttime firing can distinguish the upper portion of said front sight against a luminous background formed by said luminescent pellet,

a support for the luminescent pellet, said luminescent pellet support comprising sliding means slidable over a front portion, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the firearm, of said front sight support between a first position in which the luminescent pellet is in front of the upper portion of the front sight and a second position in which the pellet is retracted so as to not be in the line of sight,

a first projection on said front sight support,

a second projection on said front sight support,

said first projection and said second projection being spaced from each other on the front portion of the front sight support, and

said luminescent pellet support is in its first position when in abutment with said first projection and is in its second position when in abutment with said second projection.

2. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the luminescent pellet is positioned in a housing at the upper end of the pellet support, said housing having an opening for the active face of the luminescent pelleton the front sight side thereof, and the relative positions of the pellet support and of the front portion of the front sight support are such that when the pellet support is in the second position, the opening of the said housing is closed by the said front portion.

3. A firearm as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said front sight support is I-shaped in cross section with the central branch of the I extending substantially in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the firearm, and the side branch of the I most distant from said rear sight is said front portion. 

1. A firearm comprising: a front sight comprising a thin upper portion, said front sight being in a plane transverse to the longitudinal axis of the firearm, a front sight support rigidly connected to the firearm, said front sight being rigidly connected to said front sight support, a rear sight, a luminescent pellet of dimensions greater than the thin transverse dimension of the upper portion of the front sight, said luminescent pellet being positioned a slight distance in front of said front sight, on the opposite side of the front sight from the rear sight, so that a marksman using the firearm upon nighttime firing can distinguish the upper portion of said front sight against a luminous background formed by said luminescent pellet, a support for the luminescent pellet, said luminescent pellet support comprising sliding means slidable over a front portion, substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the firearm, of said front sight support between a first position in which the luminescent pellet is in front of the upper portion of the front sight and a second position in which the pellet is retracted so as to not be in the line of sight, a first projection on said front sight support, a second projection on said front sight support, said first projection and said second projection being spaced from each other on the front portion of the front sight support, and said luminescent pellet support is in its first position when in abutment with said first projection and is in its second position when in abutment with said second projection.
 2. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the luminescent pellet is positioned in a housing at the upper end of the pellet support, said housing having an opening for the active face of the luminescent pellet on the front sight side thereof, and the relative positions of the pellet support and of the front portion of the front sight support are such that when the pellet support is in the second position, the opening of the said housing is closed by the said front portion.
 3. A firearm as claimed in claim 2, wherein: said front sight support is I-shaped in cross section with the central branch of the I extending substantially in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the firearm, and the side branch of the I most distant from said rear sight is said front portion. 